PLSC 305-0 Fall 2015 MW 2:00-3:15 Pray-Harrold 421 [CRN: 13787] [Credit Hours: 3] Law & Policy in a Constitutional Democracy Dr. Henschen 601 Q Pray-Harrold Hours: MW 12:30-1:30, 3:30-4:30, and by appointment E-mail: bhenschen@emich.edu Phone: 734.487.3113; 734.487.1398 In this course we will study lawmaking in the United States. While giving special emphasis to Congress and the Supreme Court, we will also examine the important roles that the president and administrative agencies play in shaping law and policy. The impact of federalism on lawmaking and the evolution of constitutional principles and powers will also be considered. As we focus on the actors who are engaged in making the laws that govern American society as well as the institutional contexts in which that lawmaking takes place, a recurring theme will be the complexity that characterizes public policymaking in a constitutional democracy. Books: REQUIRED Baum, Lawrence. 2013. The Supreme Court (11e). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage/CQ Press. Loomis, Burdett A. and Wendy J. Schiller. 2016. The Contemporary Congress (6e). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Reading Schedule and Assignments: September 9/Wednesday Thinking About Democracy 14/Monday Compromises and Choices: The Constitutional Context 16/Wednesday The Congressional Design [Loomis & Schiller, 2] 21/Monday Congressional Evolution [Loomis & Schiller, 8] 23/Wednesday The Institutionalization of the Federal Judiciary [Baum, 1] 28/Monday The Supreme Court and Policy Over Time [Baum, 1] 30/Wednesday Congressional Elections [Loomis & Schiller, 6] October 5/Monday Judicial Selection [Baum, 2] 7/Wednesday Elections and Selections Matter: the Affordable Care Act (ACA) 1 12/Monday Exam I: Institutions and Actors 75 points 14/Wednesday Agenda Setting in Congress: Interest Groups [Loomis & Schiller, 3] 19/Monday The President as Chief Legislator [Loomis & Schiller, 5] 21/Wednesday Reaching the Court [Baum, 3] 26/Monday Deciding What to Hear [Baum, 3] 28/Wednesday Issue Identification and Agenda Setting: the ACA November 2/Monday Exam II: Setting the Agenda 4/Wednesday Congressional Policymaking: Parties and Leaders [Loomis & Schiller, 4] 9/Monday Congressional Policymaking: In Committees, on the Floor [Loomis & Schiller, 7] 11/Wednesday Representational Pressure [Loomis & Schiller, 1] 16/Monday Writing Assignment Due in Class** 16/Monday Decision Making in the Court [Baum, 4] 18/Wednesday Influences on Judicial Decisions [Baum, 4] 23/Monday Policy Outputs [Baum, 5] 25/Wednesday No Class 30/Monday Policy Choices: the ACA 75 points 40 points December 2/Wednesday Congress and the President [Loomis & Schiller, 9] 7/Monday Judicial Impact and Implementation [Baum, 6] 9/Wednesday The Court, Congress, and the President [Baum, 6] 14/Monday Presidential Candidates 2016: Statements on Policymaking* 10 points 16/Wednesday Take-Home Final Exam (turn in between 1:30-3:00): Decision Making Processes, Policies, and Impact 100 points 2 Overview of Assignments: October 12/Monday Exam I 75 points [Loomis & Schiller, chapters 2, 6, 8; Baum, chapters 1, 2] November 2/Monday Exam II 75 points [Loomis & Schiller, chapters 3, 5; Baum, chapter 3] November16/Monday Writing Assignment Due in Class** 40 points December 14/Monday Presidential Candidates 2016: Statements on Policymaking* 10 points December 16/Wednesday Take-Home Final Exam (turn in between 1:30-3:00) [Loomis & Schiller, chapters 1, 4, 7, 9; Baum, chapters 4, 5, 6] 100 points Note: On occasion, there may be an in-class writing exercise to ensure that you are keeping up with the reading. These exercises will be considered extra credit opportunities. Grading scale: 282-300 points A 94-100% 270-281 A- 90-93 261-269 B+ 87-89 249-260 B 83-86 240-248 B- 80-82 231-239 C+ 77-79 219-230 C 73-76 210-218 C- 70-72 201-209 D+ 67-69 189-200 D 63-66 180-188 D- 60-62 Below 180 F Below 60% 3 Assignments **November 16/Monday Writing Assignment Due in Class 40 points We expect our members of Congress to serve a variety of representative functions, e.g., taking positions on issues, engaging in symbolic activities, helping with specific constituent matters, and reflecting the views of their parties. In a carefully crafted essay, discuss the ways in which your own member of the House of Representatives performs these tasks by addressing the following questions. Go to GovTrack.us and find your member of the House of Representatives. Where does he or she fall on the leadership and ideology chart? What are your representative’s most recently sponsored bills and votes on legislation? Now go to your representative’s website. What issues does he or she emphasize? What committees and subcommittees does he or she serve on? Has your representative made any specific references to health care or the Affordable Care Act on the website or in speeches or press conferences? Did he or she vote on the legislation? Has he or she said anything about wanting to repeal the act? Given what you are able to learn about your member in the House and what you are able to glean about your congressional district, how well is your representative reflecting the views of the constituency? How well is he or she “representing” you in Congress? Your paper should be about 5-7 pages, typed (double-spaced), with appropriate citations where relevant. *December 14/Monday Presidential Candidates 2016: Statements on Policymaking 10 points Throughout the semester, watch for statements made about policy and policymaking by the 2016 presidential candidates. In particular, keep track of what they may have to say about health care and the Affordable Care Act. During the class discussion, you will be asked to share a number of these statements and identify the ones that you found most thoughtful, most simplistic, most sophisticated, most bombastic, etc. Note: you will be turning in your lists of statements, so make sure that they are typed and sourced (i.e., when/where was the statement made or published). Include several statements by each of the candidates seeking his or her party’s nomination. ______________________________________________________________________________ Check your university e-mail frequently for announcements related to class. Class attendance, good note taking, and careful reading are essential to doing well in this course. It is also important for you to be present—to be fully engaged during lectures and in class discussions. Laptops closed, phones put away… 4 Additional information regarding classroom matters will be discussed in class. BE AWARE OF THE UNIVERSITY’S POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY—GO TO WWW.EMICH.EDU/STUDENTCONDUCT/INDEX.PHP Go to http://www.emich.edu/uwc for information about the university writing center. Dates and Deadlines 9/14/15 Last date to add courses via the web (a) 10/29/15 Last date to add courses with departmental authorization 9/17/15 Last date for 100% tuition refund (individual or total withdraw from term) 11/16/15 Last date for individual class withdrawal (with W grades) - No Refund 10/2/15 (b) Last date for 50% tuition refund (total withdrawal only) with W grades 10/29/15 (b) Last date for 25% tuition refund (total withdrawal only) with W grades 12/14/15 (b) Last date for total withdrawal from term (with W grades) - No Refund 9/17/15 Last date to declare pass/fail grading option or select to audit a course 12/14/15 Last date to remove pass/fail grading option and receive letter grade Codes (a) Initial registration occurring on or after the Part of Term start date will incur a one-time $140 late registration fee (b) Date applicable only if student's classes are ALL within the same Part of Term and/or a later starting Part of Term (**) A written request must be faxed to the Office of Records and Registration at 734.487.6808 before midnight 5